Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger joined dozens of well-wishers who crowded into the Historic Hamilton County Courthouse’s second floor rotunda to wish a fond farewell to Louis Wright, Friday, March 28.
Wright, Hamilton County’s finance administrator for the last 16 years, is retiring after 38 of service. Under his watch, the county secured and maintained a AAA bond rating, which Wright considers among his proudest achievements in his almost four decades of service with Hamilton County.
Wright, a UT-Knoxville graduate, joined the county in 1975 as an audit supervisor in the county’s auditor’s office. After three years, Wright was promoted to director of financial management, then moved on to become data processing director and assistant administrator of finance before becoming finance administrator upon the 1998 retirement of Coy Browder.
Wright served on numerous organizations’ boards and has received numerous awards throughout the years. Mayor Coppinger said about his community service, “Louis exemplifies an extraordinary commitment to public service. He has been a fiscal conservative for the taxpayers of Hamilton County as he managed government funds. Louis genuinely cares about the taxpayers he has served.”
Coppinger also remarked about the importance of Wright’s service to him as mayor. “During my tenure as mayor, I have witnessed a skill set that was second to none as it relates to Louis’s service as chief financial officer of this county.”
Coppinger concluded his remarks by wishing Wright a long and happy retirement.